


Grave

by pebblez24



Category: Fate: The Winx Saga (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pebblez24/pseuds/pebblez24
Summary: It’s dark, it’s cold and she’s shaking. Fear, shock, pain, she’s not completely sure which or whether all of these are attacking her system at this moment in time. She has just clawed her way back through the earth and flowers, taken her first breath of clean air.
Relationships: Bloom & Farah Dowling, Farah Dowling & Ben Harvey, Farah Dowling & Sky, Farah Dowling/Saul Silva
Comments: 8
Kudos: 83





	Grave

It’s dark, it’s cold and she’s shaking. Fear, shock, pain, she’s not completely sure which or whether all of these are attacking her system at this moment in time. She has just clawed her way back through the earth and flowers, taken her first breath of clean air. It’s still dark but she is uncertain what time it is and how much time has passed since… 

So many thoughts and emotions scramble to the forefront of her mind in the next few deep breaths she is able to take. A sob echoes into the darkness, through the trees before she can smother it with a dirt covered hand. She calms herself somewhat and removes her shaking hand from her mouth, looking at it in disgust. It is peppered with damp soil, she inspects both of her hands, soil is embedded in her nails and knuckles, turning them over, dirt has sunk into the lines of her palms… head, heart, life, fate, sun – all caked in the dirt from her grave. 

In a moment of panic she remembers she is still half buried alive. Frantically she pushes the rest of the soil from her legs. She is exhausted and knows she needs to preserve her energy reserves for any magic she may need until she can reach some form of safety. Sitting aside her grave now she looks at the indentation of her body, she needs to fill it and begins pushing the dirt back in from the sides, pondering whether she has the strength to rectify the flowers to match the other graves. This is her place just outside the barrier, she visits here when she needs headspace (maybe not anymore) but will Rosalind come back? (Doubtful? Her arrogance and narrowminded goal will keep her focus, she wouldn’t need to visit here unless for some kind of gloating) Would Ben or Saul come here? (Saul’s on his way to Solaria so, not any time soon. Ben… maybe?) If she regrows the flowers Rosalind will think she is still here and others wouldn’t notice. If she leaves it as is… Rosalind could discover she’s not dead but so would Ben and Saul. They would know she is ok. That they can find her. 

Completely focussed on her task she doesn’t hear the rustling of footsteps. Too many thoughts happening in her mind, of all the times she needs to be wary of her surroundings to protect herself and she can’t. Hands still shaking, still pushing the soil around, still trying to formulate a plan. “Headmistress Dowling?”. She’s frozen in place from her own carelessness. How could she have let someone approach her without realising? “Miss Dowling?!”

Bloom sinks to her knees beside her, taking her hands and looks at her with the most petrified eyes. Farah looks at their joined hands and then at her lap and up to her blouse. She can feel her matted hair across her cheeks and neck, the clips barely holding it together. What a mess. “Hey, hey look at me… please”. Bloom pushes her hair back to see her face and eyes more clearly. Her smaller hands are clasped on either side of her neck. “Rosalind said you left, she said you took a sabbatical to the mountains. Everything has changed and… and” Bloom slows looking back and forth from her headmistress to the grave. “Did she… what do you need?” 

Farah covers her face with her hands. Her tears that she had been holding back fall fast and hard. She was alone, without Saul or Ben, she was alone and for a little while dead or as good as. The moment her back was turned she realised what was to happen, saw the flashes of Rosalind’s plan. With barely seconds to react she was able to put up a glamour. She was able to prevent her neck from being broken but everything else… the fall, the burial, all real. A thought crosses her mind… Bloom was in the first world, she went home with the girls on Wednesday, the day Rosalind ‘killed’ her. How was Bloom back? How did she know…

“Bloom what day is it?” Even with her words muffled by her hands Bloom hears her. “It’s Friday night” she looks at her phone “It’s 10:35, we’re supposed to be in our suites, but… I snuck out” she shrugs and has her guilty, mischievous look on her face that makes her so endearing and much harder to tell off. With a deep sigh “Fuck!” she sweeps the hair that has fallen back over her face up and over before covering her eyes once again with a hand. To laugh or to cry, that was the question. 

“Rosalind, followed me down here. We had an argument… she thinks she broke my neck and buried me here.” They look around the grave site. “I thought it had been a few hours… I’ve been out for nearly 2 days Bloom!” Saul, Ben, Sky, Sam and Terra all flash through her mind. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” 

Bloom had a bemused but fearful look across her face that had her headmistress wanting to apologies. Pulling out her phone she sends a message to her suite. ‘Major problem, I need to go back to the first world. I need you to cover and I will be back in the morning. I’ll message when I am on my way back.’

“Come on!” Bloom stands and holds her hand out for her teacher. Farah looks from her hand to her face and back to her hand. She allowed the teenager to pull her to her feet. What a state she must look. “Bloom?” Still holding her hand pulls her in a direction away from the school. “You need a shower, food and rest. I’m going to take you to my parents house.” Bloom twirls Stella’s ring between her fingers before placing it back in her pocket. They’d used it on Wednesday so Farah hadn’t needed to create a portal and she could preserve her energy tonight too. 

Stumbling through the forest surrounding Alfea, in the middle of the night (when then Burned Ones are in no way near beaten) with her headmistress covered in dirt: face, hair and clothes would be comical if it wasn’t absolutely terrifying. She kept a hold of Miss Dowling’s hand, her grip perhaps a little too tight but every time she looked across and slightly behind, she saw not her strong and powerful headmistress but a woman who had had the rug pulled from under her, by Bloom herself no less. Geez what a mess. She had apologised in the office earlier this week but what had followed seemed even worse. She had lied, she had freed a tyrant, her headmistress and headmaster had been buried alive and sent to prison respectively and her entire school has become some cruel boot camp of magical and physical fighting. Yesterday morning, she had returned to school with her friends. No more secrets and the hope of finding her real parents with the support of her first world parents and her teacher. No, what she had came back to was an assembly detailing the new leaders, the new daily schedule, rules and curfews. No freedom, no hope, and no happiness. 

The transformation was dramatic. Queen Luna’s army manned every doorway. Rosalind, Andreas and Luna stormed the hallways with stern looks commanding students to their rooms, classrooms or training field. Fairies and Specialists alike were fighting, it was relentless: fall, get back up, fall, get back up. No praise, no encouragement, no warmth. Everywhere felt cold. Everyone subdued. Even Terra couldn’t bring a real smile to her or anyone else’s face and Stella was just petrified. Musa had completely withdrawn into herself and back to having her headphones permanently attached to her ears. Aisha had remained passive though a little antsy since her freedom to swim had been revoked. 

They stumbled towards the door, deep in the forest, Bloom pushed the ring against it swinging it open. As the made to step through the hand she grasped pulled back. “Come on,” she encouraged. Farah shook her head and swallowed deeply “Bloom, I can’t… if Rosalind finds out I’m still alive and that I am here, she will kill them and me… again. I don’t want to put you and your family at risk.” 

Bloom tugged her through the door a but more forcefully. “We are going to see my parents, get you cleaned up and some sleep and then you can decide. It’s the middle of the night, the girls will cover for me until morning. Come on!”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was gone 11:30 by the time Bloom walked them through her childhood home. The lights were out and she knew her parents would be sleeping. In hindsight perhaps she should have messaged them when she messaged the suite. She led Miss Dowling towards the bathroom. Her teacher was definitely exhausted. She was a lot more pliable than Bloom would have expected. Two towels and a promise to drop some clothes in Bloom switched on the shower and left the dazed woman to it. 

Bloom made her way to her parent’s room. A tap on the door had her Mom jolting awake. “Bloom?” she panicked. Pushing the bedspread away she snuck out of her bed leaving her husband sleeping soundly. “Bloom, what’s wrong, you only left yesterday morning and its… nearly midnight!” This was going to be a long, long night. 

‘Mom I need some leggings and a jumper and then I will explain everything. I promise.” Vanessa could hear the shower running and realised her daughter had once again came home with company. Passing the clothing over Bloom disappeared first into her room and then the bathroom and after a hushed conversation followed her Mom to the kitchen to reveal more truths about the Fairy world.  


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Farah stared around the family bathroom. Clearly only Bloom ever used this one as she saw littering’s of the teenager across the room and no indicators of adult belongings. Taking a deep breath, she sat heavily on the closed toilet seat. Head once again in her hands before looking down her arms and body. A light knock on the door and Bloom popped her head around with some clothes. “Hey, when you’re done, me and my Mom will be down in the kitchen. I’ll make you a pot of tea and something to eat if you feel like it.” She smiled sweetly and Farah stood and grabbed her hand before she could disappear, “Thank you, Bloom.”

Closing her eyes and turning to face the mirror above the sink she counted to 10 before opening her eyes. What a state. She could barely believe Bloom recognised her at the cemetery never mind that she has walked through the streets from the old factory to the Peter’s home. Thank goodness it is so late at night. She felt bone weary. Emotionally wrought. She began the process of underdressing: her jacket, her scarf, her jumper, that’s when she saw the mottled skin around her neck and shoulder. Rosalind may not have broken her neck and killed her, but she was pretty close. Undressing the rest of the way, she stepped under the stream of the shower. She felt the instant burn, she usually ran hot but being underground for apparently days had set a chill deep within her. She also couldn’t remember a time where she had been separated from Saul or even Ben for this long. A constant pool of warmth in the centre of her chest had long been present since her and Saul’s bond had first formed. It had only grown warmer over the years. She could feel it still, but it was somewhat cooled. Rosalind would have likely got message of her death to him as a form of torture. Whilst attuned to Farah, she hadn’t been projecting her magic outwardly these last couple of days. It had been turned inwards keeping her alive below the earth. 

She scrubbed her hands raw, paranoid she could still see the dirt in her skin and nails. Her hair took three washes before the water really ran clear down the drain. When some feeling finally returned to her feet she stepped out, wrapping a towel around her hair and body. With a quick dry she pulled on the leggings and long jumper that she could only assumed belonged to Vanessa Peters. She smiled when she noticed some fluffy socks.  


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Standing at the bottom of the stairs she could see the light from the kitchen and the hushed tones of mother and daughter. She had always been light of foot and was soon making her way through into the kitchen timidly only to be greeted with a smile from Bloom. “Come and sit down,“ she pressed her hand to the tea pot lightly until some steam came through the spout. “Would you like something to eat? Some toast?”  
“That would be lovely Bloom, thank you.” She didn’t have an appetite and worried her stomach may revolt but she definitely should try to eat something and restore some of her strength. She sat at the table in front of the mug of tea Bloom’s mom was currently pouring her. “No cup and saucer in the house sorry, we are very American and Bloom’s described Alfea as a very British boarding school. You’re lucky we had a teapot at all.” 

A plate of toast was placed in the centre of the table and she was passed a side plate. Bloom pointed to the butter and jam with her eyebrows raised. “Help yourself Miss Dowling.”  
“Farah, I’m not headmistress anymore Bloom, besides I’m currently in your home, in borrowed leggings and jumper. A far cry from your headmistress.” She said despondently. Concentrating on the toast she had buttered and contemplating whether she truly wanted to take a bite. “You are going to fight right! You cannot leave us with Rosalind in charge! You have to find a way, I’ll help, I owe you that much.” 

Shaking her head Farah looked Bloom in the eye, slightly glazed but focussed “Bloom, I don’t know what Rosalind has planned and she told me things were coming… I don’t know what we are up against, I don’t know what is the truth and what is a lie.” She said exasperated. “I just… Bloom she has taken everything! I promised I would be honest with you and I am, she… I’m exhausted, I barely survived her attack, she’s taken my students, my school, my spec… Saul.” Bloom jumped up and ran around the table to hug her teacher. She had started crying somewhere through the speech but couldn’t know when. She was overly emotional. Having the teen pull her from her seat and hug her so tightly didn’t help.  
Taking a step back she brushed the tears aside and looked over at Mrs Peters and spoke in the most composed tone she could manage, “Thank you for your hospitality Mrs Peters. I would like very much to retire for the night and I will be out of your hair in the morning. Bloom needs to go back to school at first light so she isn’t missed.”  
Vanessa watched her daughter about to butt in but took her arm to stop her. 

“You can call me Vanessa, follow me. I’ll show you to the guest room. Bloom go to bed and I will wake you in a few hours to get you back to school. You’ll be no good to Farah or the school if you get caught.”

Farah watched Bloom mope out of the room and up the stairs before picking up her mug of tea and waiting for Vanessa to shut off the kitchen lights. When they reached the guest room Vanessa put the side lights on and pulled back the sheets. Standing straight she looked the women her daughter adored and had spoken so highly of anxiously move from foot to foot. “Come on. You look dead on your feet… Sorry! Poor turn of phrase.” She gasped. Farah snorted a laugh but placed her mug on the side and sat down. She looked up at Bloom’s mother and couldn’t help but wonder what this woman must think. Thrown into a world that her daughter had only recently embraced… Goodness, this woman had only just discovered her daughter wasn’t really her daughter. That she was a fairy from another world, swapped with her dead daughter; had been introduced to her fairy friends and now she was harbouring a fugitive headmistress of said fairy world and school. 

Instead of leaving Vanessa sat down on the bed beside her. “You are welcome to stay as long as you need. You cannot go back to your… “she shook her head and huffed a small laugh “world. You need to rest and rejuvenate your energy and magic. Well, that’s a phrase I never thought would leave my mouth… Bloom’s words by the way. Her and her friends enlightened me to your world and the workings of your school the other day and Bloom has spent a little time, while you were showering, explaining a little about your current situation.” Vanessa reached across and took Farah’s hand not unlike how Bloom had earlier in the night. “My daughter, has never been as happy as she has been under your care and guidance. She didn’t have friends, she was antisocial and kept to herself.” She took a deep breath “After the fire she was constantly petrified, obviously now I know why, but the girl who came home on Wednesday, my little girl, she was happy. She had friends and thanks to you, she had control. Thank you for helping her come back to me, even if she isn’t my blood, we raised her and you helped her find her way back home.” 

“I know we need to talk some more; I would like to help you in any way I can. I know Bloom needs to go back, she explained, and whilst I am terrified of letting her go back there, I know you will keep her safe. She said you were exceptional and extraordinarily powerful… I know what you said downstairs, but she believes in you and I trust her.”  
With a warm smile Vanessa stood though kept a hold of Farah’s hand. “Get some sleep and we can take Bloom back to factory in the morning. Then we can work on your plan to get your school and Saul back.” With a smile Vanessa left the room closing the door too behind her.  


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

She gasped awake and sat up not much unlike a few hours earlier but this time she was not being smothered by the soil of her grave. With a few deep breathes she looked around. She felt Bloom’s hand on her lower leg before her vision unblurred to see the slightly out of breath teen. “Bloom?” 

“You… I think you were having a nightmare… I don’t know.” Farah looked around the unfamiliar room cautiously. “I was coming out of the bathroom and saw a glow from under your doorway. You had a dome of light around you, I think maybe you were protecting yourself…”

Taking a sip of her cold tea, Farah pushed herself back against the headboard and patted the space beside her. “It was a little bit like a nightmare… but… you remember your history lessons on the Fairy and Specialists bond?” she waited for Bloom to nod before continuing. “ Well, Saul and I bonded when we were in first year at Alfea. One of the first. It has become less common over the years for matches to bond, especially so quickly… we haven’t trained the new generation as we were trained. It was cruel and barbaric. You only started training with the Specialists because of the Burned Ones reappearing.” Bloom nodded as Farah looked at her then back to her hands. “As you know, you can be paired as any gender and the Otherworld doesn’t quite have the same view on relationships. Nevertheless, mine and Saul’s bond shocked even Rosalind, it was quick and it was strong. We didn’t let people know how strong at first, we told Rose and Ben, erm Mr Harvey, so they could help us research a few things. You see, when we looked at the bonded pairs in older year groups they could fight in sync, they moved like the were dancing, but when one was hurt or fell, they didn’t really flinch. When Saul was injured on a training mission, I felt it. It was excruciating. It felt like I was the one who had been attacked, like my skin was being ripped apart and acid poured in.” Farah pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them closer. Bloom shivered. “Get in Bloom.” 

“They’re torturing him. Saul. I thought… I couldn’t feel him when were still at the cemetery. When we got back here I, I could feel him, it was faint and a lot colder than usual.” She clutched a hand to the centre of her chest. “He is a warm bubble; it sits just here in my chest. It fizzes and flutters like when you get excited or you know when people describe getting butterflies? He describes me differently, but it sits in the same place. It radiates out through our arms and legs whenever we feel too much. Usually, happiness or pain are the most intense but there is always a constant presence… He is in pain.” She swirls her hands around slightly in front of her “They’ve bound his wrists above his head, I can feel their heaviness and… his back, they’ve whipped his back raw. My magic is different here, but it has gotten stronger only in the few short hours I’ve been sleeping. I was projecting comfort; he should have worked out I am still alive by now. Even in sleep the bond wants to protect him, protect us.”

“He’s my soulmate Bloom. The research from when we were kids, we found it. Rose found it. Rare but not unheard of a couple of centuries ago. Rosalind doesn’t know, or at least I don’t think she does… we kept it only between us. But, Saul could have told Andreas, who could have told Rosalind. I don’t know. If I had actually died, Saul would have known for sure. He’s holding out for me to bring him home. As cheesy as it sounds… we’re stronger together.” 

Bloom snorts at her headteacher’s knowing smile. “Fairies and now soulmates. Here I was joining a school expecting little green Tinkerbells and instead I get wingless human sized fairies who aren’t always women, with combat partners and literal monsters. What’s next Dragons?” A sharp, serious look… “No way!” So, Rosalind hasn’t revealed all to Bloom. 

“Come on, we need sleep. I plan to follow you tomorrow night after some more sleep and some planning. I need to get my head on straight if I am going to spring Saul from Solaria’s prison and rescue my school from Rosalind’s grasp aannnnddd whatever else is coming.” Bloom moved to get out of the side of the bed, but posed with her back to Farah… “Can I stay? Here… tonight?” Farah’s eyebrows met her hairline but this wasn’t unlike Bloom asking for a hug. Perhaps a little… a lot more personal but she did just rescue her headmistress from her grave and give her refuge with her family. So, when Bloom glanced over her shoulder she received a nod. They both tucked themselves under the covers. After a few moments Farah felt Bloom’s hand take hers, they both smiled and slept.  


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was barely light when Vanessa woke them both. Whilst Bloom got dressed Farah stayed in her borrowed leggings and whilst considerably taller than Vanessa and Bloom she was able to borrow a pair of trainers. This is the most casual she has been in front of anyone, outside of her private suite in years. Bloom had instructions to find a handful of items projected into her mind and they both hoped Rosalind hadn’t completely wiped Farah’s stuff from existence already. Bloom had concocted a family emergency to tell her suite mates for now. Originally, she thought to tell them the truth but with Rosalind’s powers they didn’t want to have Farah’s existence accidently leaked should Rosalind decide to invade their minds. 

“Bloom,” She had hugged her mom tight and then Farah “When you get back, the first chance you have to talk to Mr Harvey you need to take. He will help you with the list of items and meeting me tonight” Bloom nodded and stepped closer to the door leading towards the otherworld. 

“Text us so we know you are safe and back in your suite please.” Vanessa reminded her “Be brave, be strong, I love you darling.” She smiled a proud smile. “Thank you Bloom. Thank you for everything. I’ll see you tonight and we’ll go from there.”  


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With the rustling of leaves underfoot, Ben, Bloom and Sky made their way to the centre of the cemetery. Farah revealed herself and was engulfed in a tight hug by Sky. As soon as he released her, she flung her arms around Ben and hoped his broad shoulders muffled her sob of relief. They clung to each other a lot longer than with her and Sky. Ben knew. He knew what was happening to her on a level the kids would never understand. They were only at the beginning of Rosalind’s reign. They hadn’t lived through it as the adults had, hadn’t suffered anything like Ben, Saul but mostly Farah. 

The shear relief, exhaustion, elation and desperation was shared in that hug by both parties. Ben clutched the back of her head under his chin and swayed them softly. When Farah finally pulled away he swept his thumbs under her eyes and kissed her forehead. “This is for you” He smiled his wonderfully warm smile, passing a backpack over. Inside was several military outfits and other personal affects. They smelled like her, so she knew Rosalind hadn’t destroyed anything yet. 

“Oh, my sweet boy, I am so happy to see you.” Farah swept her hand affectionately over Sky’s hair. Whilst displays of affection had become more limited as the children had got older, it couldn’t take away the relationships they had formed as small children. “I knew you wouldn’t have taken a sabbatical, especially with Saul in prison.” He looked tired and frustrated. “I’m going to bring Saul home and then we will work on the school and whatever big fight is coming. First, however, I am going to get changed!” she swept the bag over her shoulder and smiled at Bloom as she walked around one of the partially erected walls. What felt like seconds later, she reappeared in her own clothes and low braid. Farah joined Bloom on the bench and looked over to her grave, the others also glanced over. “Ben can you sort the flowers so if Rosalind decides to visit it looks like I might still be there… I didn’t have the energy yesterday and well you’ll do a better job anyways.” 

“We want to come with you!” Bloom finally burst. Farah looked up knowing we, included Sky who was nodding in agreement. “You can’t leave the school… neither of you. You’ll be missed, literally the two most obvious losses. Rosalind would likely hunt you down Bloom and Andreas… Sky…” She trailed off shaking her head. 

“Farah, I don’t think you should go to the city alone, but, I also agree that Bloom would obviously be missed.” Bloom glared at him hard. “The other problem is that if Sky disappears alone then they would likely work out he was going to see Saul which would likely make if more difficult for you to get him, Farah. If the two of them leave together however, they can either ‘run away’ or claim to get away for the day, a break and bonding. It is Sunday tomorrow after all.”

“And what happens Ben when they disappear for the day and on that same day Saul is sprung from prison. We’re basically advertising that they were the ones who did it!” She couldn’t deny that some support would be of benefit but she would neve choose the students of Alfea as the ones to help her. They needed a better plan.

**Author's Note:**

> I have absolutely no intention of carrying this on. I am not opposed however if someone wants to write a continuation.


End file.
